CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Let’s face it, media days have the ability to be a bit boring.
Maybe not to us as sports journalists. Or to fans who are craving some college football talk in this long month of July. But to the players and coaches, the day can get old quick.
The media had months to prepare for the two-day outing at the Westin in Charlotte so you can imagine most people have the same line of thinking when it comes to storylines.
That leads to many of the players and coaches hearing the same line of questioning throughout the day. It can get old, but most of the student-athletes find a way to put on a straight face and answer each question as if they’ve heard it for the first time.
When it comes to Clemson, the ACC Kickoff came with a lot of praise. Three consecutive ACC Championships, three consecutive College Football Playoff appearances, and the abundance of returning talent especially on the defensive line will do that to you.
So when Mitch Hyatt stepped up to the podium at 2:30 in the afternoon after a long day so far, he faced some of the same questions he had already heard:
“No one faces the defensive line more than you do. Could you tell me about the defensive line unit and what makes them so special?”
“Is there any greater way to prepare than to block Clelin Ferrell, Christian Wilkins, Austin Bryant, and Dexter Lawrence every day?”
“Tell us about Clelin Ferrell.”
Ferrell, who sat next to Swinney about 15 feet away, had heard enough.
The defensive lineman put his fingers to his ears, plugged them, and put his head down. He didn’t want to hear any more noise. No more anointing. No more praise.
Ever since the trio of star-powered defensive linemen decided to come back for another season, the entirety of the college football world began to claim how great this front four can be. Some may even say they are the fiercest front four assembled. Ever.
Months have passed since the three linemen of Ferrell, Austin Bryant, and Christian Wilkins made their decision to return. Which means there have been months of noise - or praise - coming from all over.
Then came the magazine covers. The most notable being Athlon’s 2018 College Football Preview magazine featuring all four members of Clemson’s defensive line. Another one being Phil Steele’s 2018 Preview where Dexter Lawrence graced the cover alongside three other players.
On the outside, it was fun to watch the behind the scenes videos of the four at their cover shoot. But if you’re Swinney and you keep coming across those magazines over the course of the summer - much like ACC Media Days - it gets old.
So the coach who is known for playing the underdog role took the magazines to a team meeting the day before he left for Charlotte. Swinney told his players he hates seeing the covers and that ‘it’s all on paper.’
We imagined Swinney as if he was giving one of his old pregame pep talks before a prime-time matchup against another quality opponent. Only this time, the opponents are his own players who aren’t underdogs anymore.
Ferrell said he and his teammates can’t fall into the mousetrap.
“When I came in, Coach Hobby, my old defensive line coach, and Coach Bates, too, they always talked to us about not taking the cheese,” Ferrell said. “But they're right, though. I'm tired of seeing it, too. We're ready to just go out there and play and perform because that's what it's all about.”
For people who are a part of Clemson, the publicity has been welcomed. The positive conversations about the different reasons why the three came back to school speaks to Clemson and Swinney’s outreaching brand.
Though the anointment has been annoying to the group known as the Power Rangers, Ferrell knows this just comes with the territory of the championship expectations on Clemson’s program.
Some of the great rockstars in history had to have gotten annoyed by their fame. But the greatest ones knew how to handle it.
“You get tired about hearing how good you are, how good you can be. It gets really annoying,” Ferrell said. “We haven’t even really played yet. They just assume that we are the best front four ever. They just assume that we are going to have a great year. It’s kind of like a discredit to yourself because people don’t understand the work that you’ve put in to be great. They think it just happens.”
With weeks before the season begins, “talking season” will start to slow down as the sounds of players hitting pads begin to fill the air. Finally, the players will be able to block out this praise with football practice.
The bottom line is everyone in the country with a pulse on college football knows the potential that lies within this group, including Ferrell.
But actions speak louder than words, and the front four wants to generate so much noise with their play that everyone who was talking before will be left covering their ears.
“I know we're a talented group. But we're more so about the action,” Ferrell added. “We want to walk the walk rather than just talk it.”
